Machiavelli

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On the one hand, Smith deals with division of labour for economic benefit while on the other hand, Macchiavelli deals with division of “moral labor” for social benefit. The economic division of labour is a form of specialisation, where individuals concentrate on the production of a particular good or service. In his book ‘Wealth of Nations”, Smith argues that division of labour is they key to economic efficiency. It is a natural component of life where each individual is motivated by self-interest in order to maximise their welfare. Machiavelli sees differently as in his work “The Prince”, he argues that in order to maximise welfare, the citizen needs to be subject to the rule of a higher authority, favourably that of one man only. His idea…show more content…
He held a very cynical view towards human nature as he believed that human beings are naturally driven by their own self-interest and are therefore deceitful and untrustworthy as their main goal is to increase their own social welfare. He adds that men “are bad and do not keep their promises to you” and as a result the prince must learn “how not to be good” in order to maintain power and therefore political stability in his state. Therefore, according to Machiavelli, the ruler must be thrifty, frugal and feared for the benefit of the state. While most humanists would consider generosity as an admirative quality in a ruler, Machiavelli perceives generosity as self-defeating. He argues that generosity uses up resources and prevents further generosity while a parsimonious ruler might seem miserly at the beginning, but he will eventually earn a reputation for generosity. Moreover, “it is better to be feared than loved” because men, by nature, are “ungrateful, fickle, dissembling, anxious to flee danger, and covetous of gain”. In other words, if the ruler is too compassionate and does not adequately punish disloyal subjects, he creates an atmosphere of disorder, since his subjects take the liberty to do what they please- even to the extremes of murder and theft. Crime harms the entire community, whereas executions harm only the individuals who commit crimes. He therefore

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